"Newcastle United will make only their second appearance in the Champions League last 16 when La Liga leaders arrive on Tyneside for a highly anticipated first leg clash. For the first time since 2002-03, when they reached the second group phase, Newcastle are one of the 16 clubs remaining in a Champions League campaign."
"Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has challenged his side to produce the performance of a lifetime as they aim to win one of the biggest games in the club's history against Barcelona on Tuesday. We've never been in this position in the Champions League before, and it's the best competition there is, so for obvious reasons it's a massive game in our history, Howe said."
"Newcastle famously beat Barca 3-2 thanks to a Faustino Asprilla hat-trick in the clubs' first Champions League meeting in 1997. That was the peak of the Magpies' brief spell as the Premier League's great entertainers. Decades in the doldrums followed, reducing the club to laughing stock status under unpopular former owner Mike Ashley."
Newcastle United hosts Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 first leg at St James' Park on March 10. This marks only Newcastle's second appearance in the last 16 since their return to the competition after over two decades. Barcelona arrives as La Liga leaders under manager Hansi Flick, fresh from a weekend victory over Athletic Bilbao. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has urged his team to deliver a historic performance, acknowledging the magnitude of facing such elite opposition. The clubs previously met in 1997 when Newcastle won 3-2 with a Faustino Asprilla hat-trick, representing a peak era for the Magpies before decades of decline.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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